Mates' Discovery
by Ghostwriter
Summary: Damon and Elena discover something's wrong when Stefan leaves them.


MATES' DISCOVERY

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Resides in my "Three's A Party" reality and takes place a little after S4 though not three months after. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot.

There was something wrong. Elena could feel it. For one thing, Stefan seemed to be mad at her and Damon for some reason. But it didn't make sense. They had been getting along just fine and they had made plans for the summer. But now, Stefan had said that he needed some space and had just taken his things and had left Mystic Falls.

"I don't understand. Did I do something wrong? Have we been edging him out?" Elena wondered.

"No. We've never made him feel unwelcome. He knows we both love him," Damon answered.

"It's been two days and there's been no word from him since he left and every time I try to open myself up to him, I just get this block of fear and pain," Elena commented. "I'm really worried. There's something wrong. I know it. There's just this-**pit**…in my stomach." Damon looked at the girl, his own anxiety mirrored on her face.

"All right. Let's go check." With that, they both left the Boarding House, got into Damon's Viper, and then headed for the rock quarry that Stefan had gone to in order to dispose of Silas.

"You think he's down there?" she asked.

"That's what I'm thinking," he stated as he started pulled out his cell phone and started dialing a number and waited until he was put through. "Liz, it's Damon. We need some help. Could you meet us by the old rock quarry?" he requested. She agreed and he hung up. They both stared down at the water below and then the sound of a coming car caught their attention. They turned towards the sound and saw Sheriff's car pulling up.

"Oh, thank goodness," she sighed. _It'll be all right_, Damon told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Then they watched as the car parked and a few moments later, Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes walked up.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"We think Stefan might be at the bottom of the quarry instead of Silas," Damon responded.

"What?" the sheriff gasped. _Is he serious? It's really not over?_ she wondered. She couldn't believe that this was happening. "What do you want me to do?" she questioned.

"Is there a way to see if we can find the box?" Elena asked. They had to find him. They just **had** to!

"I don't know. It's been two days and it's an awful big quarry," Liz said.

"But we have to! There's something wrong! I can just feel it! We have to find him!" Elena protested, her voice rising in panic. For a response, Damon placed his arms around her neck, pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. _Relax, baby. We'll find him_, he reassured her.

"I'll do what I can but I don't know if I have the manpower to dredge the whole lake," Liz stated.

"Please, Liz. Just try. It's **Stefan** we're talking about," Damon pleaded.

"Okay, I'll assign some deputies to different parts of the quarry," Liz said with a sigh.

"Thank you, Liz," Damon stated as she walked away.

"Damon, he's so frightened," Elena stated. "It's coming off of him in waves," she told him.

"Yeah, I've been feeling it too," Damon agreed. And that worried him. He didn't like feeling that kind of fear coming from his brother and mate. This was bad. This was very bad. They had to find him. _Brother?_ he asked, allowing himself to open up fully. **D-Damon?** he heard. _Where are you?_ Damon asked. **Stefan?** Elena added. **East side of the quarry**, Stefan replied.

"Huh?" Elena asked, looking at Damon in confusion. Had Stefan forgotten that Geography wasn't her strong suit?

"I know where it is. Call Liz," Damon responded and Elena did as she was told, giving the sheriff the information, saying that they had searched the quarry and found him. Then, they used their vampire speed to get to the part of the quarry that had been indicated. A few moments later, the sheriff joined them and arrangements were made to dredge the portion of the lake and the box was collected and brought up.

"If he's been in a box for two days then he's probably going to be pretty hungry," Liz realized and stepped back. The last thing she wanted was to get in the way of a hungry vampire.

"Yeah, he'll **definitely** be hungry. **I** would be," Damon agreed. He couldn't even imagine what his brother must've gone through these last couple of days. It had to be Hell. **Damon, why's Sheriff Forbes with you? It's too dangerous. I ****am**** hungry**, Damon heard Stefan say. "You guys might want to step back," he said to the humans and they all backed up even further as Damon unlocked the safe and Liz shooed her deputies away and they went on their way. Almost as soon the door was opened, Stefan lunged started to lunge forward but the older vampire caught him as Elena also intercepted him. Stefan growled as he tried to get past his brother and girlfriend. **Let me go! I'm hungry!** he shouted. _Drink from me, Brother_, Damon told him and Stefan instantly let his true features show and sank his teeth into his brother's neck and drink eagerly. Blood. He finally had blood. He had been so hungry. Liz watched them.

"Do you guys need anything else?" she asked.

"No. Thank you, Liz," the oldest vampire responded and the woman nodded.

"Glad I could help. Call if you need anything else," she said.

"We will. Thank you, Sheriff," Elena said. Finally, Stefan had had his fill and pulled away.

"Let's get you home," Damon said, and Stefan nodded and they all got into the car and drove back to the Boarding House where he parked the car and then they all went inside where Elena quickly went to a refrigerator and got out a blood bag.

"Start off slowly," she told him in concern as she handed the bag to him.

"We need to talk," the younger male said opening the bag as they all sat down. He then took a small sip of the blood and let it settle in his system.

"I'll say. Silas is alive," his brother commented. Then he froze. Silas was alive. Bonnie was the one who had cast the spell and if Silas was still roaming around, that could only mean one thing.

"No," Elena gasped, coming to the same conclusion. "No, no, no, no," she mumbled as tears started pouring down her face. Damon pulled her close and in an instant, Stefan was at her side. "She can't be dead. She can't be," she sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Lena," Stefan murmured.

"Why? How'd it happen?" Elena wondered.

"Jeremy's back which means she brought him back from the Other Side. That's a pretty strong spell. It was probably too much for her body to handle," Damon stated. _Man, I can't believe she was willing to do this for her_, he thought to himself. Sure they had never gotten along all that well, but that didn't mean he wanted her dead.

"That's a pretty big sacrifice," Stefan commented. _I'd probably do the same thing if I was in her position_, he thought to himself.

"I wish she hadn't done it! She's one of my best friends! How could she think that I'd trade her for anyone?! Even Jeremy?" Elena exclaimed, causing the brothers to stare at one another. _She means so much to me! Why would she leave me? Why haven't I told her lately how important she is to me?_ she wondered as she continued to sob. Damon began stroking her hair, making shushing noises as Stefan rubbed her back. To anyone else, it would seem odd that she was reacting so violently, but both boys knew how much she valued her friendships and she hadn't been a vampire for very long so she still wasn't used to handling such strong emotions.

"We'll get her back. I promise you," Damon said and Elena looked at him hopefully. He nodded and then looked at Stefan who gave him a curt nod, indicating that he was on the same wavelength as his brother. No matter what, they **would** bring Bonnie back for their mate. No matter the cost, they would make her happy.

THE END.


End file.
